Family Systems, Political Systems and Asia's ‘Missing Girls’

China, South Korea and northwest India manifest extreme child sex ratios. This paper argues that this is because their pre-modern political and administrative systems used patrilineages to organise their citizens, generating uniquely rigid patriliny and son preference. It also argues that the advent of the modern state has unravelled the underpinnings of the rigid patriliny, unleashing forces that reduce son preference. Firstly, the modern state has powerful tools for managing its citizenry, rendering patrilineages a threat rather than an asset for the state. Secondly, the modern state has brought in political, social and legal reforms aimed to challenge traditional hierarchies, including those of gender. Thirdly, industrialisation and urbanisation have ushered in new modes of social organisation, which reduce the hold of clans and lineages. Studies suggest that states can accelerate the decline in son preference, through media efforts to help parents perceive that daughters can now be as valuable as sons.